Are premium plans on dating apps swipe-worthy?

For this week’s No More Ls column, we’re looking at the cost of dating apps and whether the premium plans are worth your money.

“I miss the days when you had one phone number and one answering machine, and…you either had a message from the guy or you didn’t,” Mary, played by Drew Barrymore, says to her friend in the hit film He’s Just Not That Into You. That was 2009, and she was alluding to checking texts, emails (on devices like BlackBerries), work phones and landlines for rejection. “Now, you have to go around checking all these different portals just to get rejected by seven different technologies. It’s exhausting.”

Mary wasn’t yet privy to the plethora of dating apps and their various plans that present even more opportunities for overanalysis and uncertainty today.

Today, you don’t even need to get up off your couch to meet endless eligible singles. With sifting through prospects as easy as swiping left or right on a photo, modern dating apps allow daters to be in touch with countless matches every day, leading to what some call the paradox of choice: when we simply stop choosing because there are too many options. 

How much does it cost to use dating apps in Canada?

While all the modern apps have free versions allowing daters to swipe on a limited number of prospects per day and connect with those they match with, they also offer paid tiers, ranging from $10 to over $100 per month in Canada. When you’re using more than one app, the cost to date can easily add up to the amount of a mortgage payment.

Consider any of the subscription fees quoted here as estimates: Some dating apps use dynamic pricing, meaning the price can change depending on your age, location and preferences, and potential users often see special discount offers. Depending on the app and the tier you choose, these plans promise extra features like the chance to like more people per day, to be seen by more people, to see who’s already liked you before swiping, and to filter for additional preferences like height or education level. And prices can vary based on age, location and preferences, as well as for discounts offered.

Similar to other subscriptions, app prices can vary depending on how long you commit. (All prices listed in Canadian dollars, unless otherwise specified.) For example, Hinge+ starts at $32.99 for a one-month plan, but committing to a three-month plan brings that per-month number down to $21.66. Of course, that’s not including the cost of dates, which can range from $10 for coffee to $200 or more for dinner.

Are the extra features on dating apps worth the price?

Some people may take dating more seriously when there is some level of financial commitment involved, according to Cinqe Matchmaking’s lead matchmaker Annie Garmendia. Still, she says, no paid feature can replace good photos, strong communication and realistic expectations. 

Jess Katzman, a 27-year-old social media influencer in Toronto, experimented for one week with the least expensive paid versions of Tinder ($12.99 per week), Hinge+ ($16.99 per week), Bumble ($17.99 per week) and Raya (USD$24.99 per month). She found that none of the paid plans offered much value to her dating life. “Bumble and Tinder are less repetitive, but Hinge showed me the same people over and over again,” she recalls. Katzman kept paying for Raya the longest, noting it was fun to match with athletes and minor celebrities, but ultimately, she found the interactions surface-level. 

Julie, a 38-year-old homemaker living in Montreal (last name withheld to protect identity of her partners), met her first husband on OkCupid ($44.99 per month) and her second on the free Facebook Dating. She has also tried Badoo ($27.99 per month), Plenty of Fish ($19.99 per month), Match ($45.99 per month), OkCupid ($44.99 per month) and Seeking Arrangement (free for women). Julie praised Match for having the most serious dating candidates, since most users pay to be on it (the site offers a very limited  free version). 

But according to dating company consultant Eric Resnick, using the apps successfully depends more on how you present yourself than on the tier you subscribe to. “A lot of people upgrade their membership thinking it will fix their problems, but they do not change the behaviours that were causing them to fail in the first place,” Resnick says. “If you aren’t posting enough or are posting too many photos, if your profile is just a list of adjectives and activities, and if you aren’t proactively reaching out to people and starting conversations, you are just throwing your money away.”

According to Garmendia, there’s value in being on more than one app because each platform attracts slightly different people. But two is the max, she says, and Resnick agrees, noting that being on more than two apps is unlikely to yield additional prospects in your area.

Analog and free!

If you don’t want to use apps to meet, Garmendia assures readers that meet-cutes do still happen: at workout classes, in coffee shops, in airports, and at gatherings with mutual friends. Those glued to their phones, however, are not the ones likely to meet others in person, she says. You have to be open to eye contact and organic conversation with a stranger. So, if you’re looking to meet someone in person this summer, glance up every once in a while—if your match isn’t on the device under your nose, they may be right in front of it.

Read more from this issue of The Get:

1. Father Knows Best: The best financial advice dads have given and received
2. How much does a wedding really cost in Canada?  
3. Chandler Levack on finding main character energy and being too precious
4. How to save and spend when trying to build credit in Canada